This climate climate zone covers from about 44°N to 50°N latitude mostly east of the 100th meridian in North America. However, it can be found as far north as 54°N, and further west in the Canadian Prairie Provinces and below 40°N in the high Appalachians. In Europe this subtype reaches its most northerly latitude at nearly 61° N. Areas featuring this subtype of the continental climate have an average temperature in the warmest month below 22°C (22°F). Summer high temperatures in this zone typically average between 21-28°C (70-82°F) during the daytime and the average temperatures in the coldest month are generally far below the -3 °C (27°F) mark.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Sunderland is 47.3" (1201.4 mm). The month with the most precipitation on average is October with 4.7" (119.4 mm) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 3.1" (78.7 mm). There are an average of 127.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in May with 13.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in February with 9.0 days.

In Sunderland, there's an average of 42.4" of snow (0 cm). The month with the most snow is January, with 12.4" of snow (31.5 cm).